In the past, performing active diligence on large portfolios of residential and commercial real estate properties required significant time and financial investment. One technique used to investigate real estate properties in question is a “drive-by” technique, where an individual is paid to drive by the properties and take several photographs. These photographs must then be analyzed usually by the institution personnel. In addition to the cost of such analyses, the photographer is paid for the time and effort; usually about $65.00 per property. A secondary method, used under certain circumstances, involves obtaining a real estate “broker price opinion” (BPO), which is essentially a “mini-appraisal.” Obtaining a BPO costs about $150.00 per property. Thus, if a lending institution, government agency or other entity needs to look at several thousand properties, the financial burden is potentially enormous. In addition, the number of employees required to accurately analyze the photographs requires additional financial and time investment. Further, it is difficult to keep an ongoing surveillance on properties over the entire life of the loan, or asset. For these and other potential reasons, none of these prior art options is timely or cost-effective. Thus, there is a need, especially in today's economy, for an inexpensive and time-efficient method and system of investigating and evaluating the status of real estate properties.